Bike safety initiative offers sweet deal
BUFFALO (WNE) — As the school year begins, the Buffalo Police and Johnson County Sheriff’s departments are cracking down on young bicyclists — and pulling them over — for good behavior.
Kids who are observed to be following bike safety practices such as wearing their helmets, walking e-bikes or scooters in the crosswalks, or looking both ways before crossing the street can be “ticketed” with a gift card for a free cookie at local bakery Cookies & Kisses. The gift cards were provided to BPD by Johnson County Public Health, with whom law enforcement is implementing the program while supplies last.
Police Chief Sean Bissett told the Bulletin that law enforcement collaborated with the Public Health Department on a similar program last spring as the school year was coming to a close.
“We would stop and have positive interactions with kids, and let them know ‘Hey, we appreciate you doing it the right way,’” he said. “‘You’re wearing a helmet, you’re looking both ways, you’re
walking your bike across the crosswalk, all those things.’ And so we would stop and hand out the gift cards.”
Attached to the gift cards are pamphlets reminding kids to “Ride smart. Ride safe.” A list of best practices includes instructions on how to be visible to drivers, when to use the lane in a road and to avoid using phones or earbuds while biking, scootering or skateboarding.
“(This program is) a great way for our police department to … keep a good positive relationship with these kids so they know that they don’t need to be scared of us, that we’re here on their side to protect them, that they should always know that a police officer is their first place to go when something isn’t right or they feel unsafe,” Bissett said.
The program will continue as long as gift cards last.
This story was published on Sept. 3, 2026.
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